Shadowed Thorn Rose

The City Hall of the Plateau City is built on the highest point of the hill.

The Elf Merchants walked up a long stone staircase, but was stopped by several Half-Elf guards not far away.

The Elf Merchants stood before the first platform, negotiating with the Half-Elf guards.

The Silvermoon Elf Merchants brought a Half-Elf gatherer, bound with ropes, before several Half-Elf guards, pointing at him and calling him a 'liar'.

Mulin had intended to make a routine inspection of the Prisoner of War Camp when a guard came running up, panting, to report:

A group of Elf Merchants had gathered in front of the City Hall. They said they had caught a swindler and hoped that the City Hall magistrate would personally order the punishment of this Half-Elf fraudster.

Mulin frowned, and had no choice but to postpone her inspection of the Concentration Camp.

She turned and went back to the first-floor lobby of the City Hall, and had the guards lead the group of Elf Merchants into the lobby.

When this hall was being built, Roy instructed the builders to open a domed vent in the hall's ceiling. The morning sunlight refracted through the Bronze Mirror inlaid around the vent, casting a beam of light onto a stone table in the center of the hall. On the stone table sat a balance scale, with a scepter on the left tray and a sword on the right tray.

The relief beneath the stone table depicts a group of Half-Elf carrying a broken shield with their strong arms.

The spacious hall contained only this one stone table, filling it with a sacred atmosphere.

Mulin stood in front of the stone table, coldly looking at a group of Elf Merchants who walked in through the main gate. Among these Elf Merchants were Silver Moon Elf and Half-Elf. Everyone looked very angry, and their steps were very heavy.

Looking at the Half-Elf gatherer bound by ropes, he looked listless, his face covered with bruises and wounds, one eye swollen into a goldfish eye, unable to open. Beside him was a Half-Elf girl, whose face was already streaked with tears.

A squad of Half-Elf guards stood on either side of the hall, instantly filling it with a chilling atmosphere.

Mulin took two steps forward, and the crisp sound of her footsteps immediately silenced the whispering Elf Merchants.

The hall was completely silent, save for the little girl's sobs...

"Speak, what exactly happened? You go first." Mulin pursed her lips, looked at the Silver Moon Elf Merchants standing at the front, her voice filled with an undeniable intimidation.

The Silvermoon Elf Merchants first bowed very politely to Mulin before speaking eloquently, "Governor, I am a merchant from the Padesto City. My name is Sergei. I came to the Plateau City to purchase some Magic Herbs and then transport them to the Elf Continent to earn some small profits."

"Three days ago, I bought a Winter Thorn Grass Winter Thorn Grass from a half -Half-Elf gatherer at the Free Market for 100 Winter Thorn Grass Magic Crystal Stone. But when I brought it back, I found out that it was a Thorn Vine. When I brought it back to my tent, I discovered that the ice shell on the Winter Thorn Grass Winter Thorn Grass had melted, revealing a thorn vine that had been dyed."

"So today, a few friends and I found this gatherer and brought him to the City Hall, hoping that Your Excellency would punish this Half-Elf who sells counterfeit goods in accordance with the laws of the Plateau City."

Upon hearing the word ' Half-Elf,' Mulin's pupils instantly shrank, and a sharp gaze fell on the Silver Moon Elf Merchants's face, causing him to tremble and involuntarily take two steps back.

Mulin asked the other Elf Merchants, "Is there anyone else you'd like to add?"

The group of Elf Merchants dared not meet Mulin's gaze.

Mulin took a few more steps, coldly staring at the Half-Elf gatherer, seemingly oblivious to the crying little girl beside him, and asked coldly:

"They said you sell counterfeit goods?"

"Your Excellency, what I'm selling is a genuine Winter Thorn Grass ..."

The Half-Elf gatherer, still bound by ropes, weakly retorted.

Mulin then turned to the Silvermoon Elf Merchants and asked, "You said you bought a fake Winter Thorn Grass, where is that Winter Thorn Grass?"

The Silvermoon Elf Merchants immediately took out a Demon Sealing Box, placed it in front of his feet, and then bent down to open the lid. Inside was a dried Magic Herbs.

Mulin didn't look at the Magic Herbs. Instead, she turned and shouted towards the back of the hall, "Woods, come and see what this Magic Herbs is!"

Woods scratched his head, somewhat speechless, and walked past Roy and Moira into the conference hall through the arched corridor.

Under the watchful eyes of a group of herbal merchants, they approached the Demon Sealing Box, took the Magic Herbs out of Demon Sealing Box, and examined it carefully...

Woods quickly gave a positive answer, "It is indeed a Thorn Vine, and the color of this Thorn Vine is a bit off. It has probably been soaked for a long time. Also, some of the obvious features of the Thorn Vine have been carefully trimmed, making it look a bit like Winter Thorn Grass at first glance."

Mulin frowned, looked at the group of Elf Merchants, and asked, "Can anyone prove that this Magic Herbs was sold to this merchant by this gatherer?"

As soon as these words were spoken, several Elf Merchants stepped forward, raised their right hands, and said frankly:

"Your Excellency, I can vouch for this."

"I can also testify to this."

"I can testify that when the transaction took out this Magic Herbs Magic Herbs, it was covered with a layer of ice at the time, and I was there."

"Do you know that if you give false testimony, you will be whipped ten times?" Mulin asked the Elf Merchants had stepped forward.

"We know!" the Elf Merchants replied quickly.

Mulin frowned and turned to ask the Half-Elf gatherer, "So, can you find witnesses to prove that the Magic Herbs you sold to this merchant wasn't this Thorn Vine?"

"I... I can't!" The Half-Elf gatherer hesitated for a moment before answering with a hint of despair.

Mulin frowned again.

At this moment, one of the Elf Merchants stepped forward and said to Mulin:

"Your Excellency, as far as I know, Winter Thorn Grass has not been found on the Pagisto Plateau so far, so we have good reason to believe that the Winter Thorn Grass sold by this Half-Elf gatherer is fake."

Mulin paused for a moment, then approached the Half-Elf gatherer, personally untied the ropes binding him, and asked gently, "So, can you tell me where you found this Winter Thorn Grass?"

Roy, hiding behind the hall, overheard Mulin asking the Half-Elf -Half-Elf gatherer in that tone, which meant that Mulin no longer trusted him...

Moreover, all the evidence currently points to the Half-Elf gatherer selling a fake Winter Thorn Grass.

Moira nervously gripped Roy's hand, her attention unusually focused on the debate in the hall—something she would never normally do...

The Half-Elf gatherer said he unexpectedly found this Winter Thorn Grass in a mountain hollow in the Great Snow Mountain in the northern part of the Pagisto Plateau, and also reportedly found traces of the Great Snow Monster nearby.

Yet not a single elf was willing to step forward and testify that what the herb gatherer said was true...

All the evidence points to the fact that the fake Winter Thorn Grass was sold by the Half-Elf gatherer to the silver moon Elf Merchants.

These witnesses were all herbal medicine merchants in the Free Market.

During the transaction, everyone stood around as witnesses.

Mulin pinched the bridge of her nose; all the evidence pointed to the Half-Elf gatherer selling fake Winter Thorn Grass.

Moreover, this guy was severely beaten by these Elf Merchants on the day of the transaction. Two days later, these Elf Merchants actually found the Half-Elf gatherer's house, tied him up, and sent him to the City Hall.

Under the watchful eyes of a group of Elf Merchants, Mulin considered for a moment before saying, "For now, lock him up in the Concentration Camp prison. Also, all the witnesses should not leave Plateau City for ten days. This matter still needs further investigation, and the results will be officially announced in ten days."

The group of Elf Merchants breathed a sigh of relief but also frowned. Mulin's decision not to let them leave the Plateau City for the time being surprised them.

Two Half-Elf guards escorted the Half-Elf gatherer, staggering out of the City Hall hall.

The little Half-Elf girl clung to the middle-aged Half-Elf's leg, crying miserably.

"Where are you taking my father? Where are you taking him?!"

As the guards descended the steps, the little girl collapsed weakly in front of them and fainted.

The middle-aged Half-Elf didn't even have a chance to look back...

Moira finally couldn't resist running towards the Half-Elf girl, complaining to Roy as she ran:

"Can't you help her?"

In fact, Roy was standing at the back of the hall, listening to Mulin handle the entire case.

As it turned out, Mulin handled the case fairly, without showing favoritism towards the gatherer because of his Half-Elf identity. She imprisoned the Half-Elf gatherer based on the overwhelming evidence.

In fact, Mulin also said on the spot that the City Hall would have another ten days for investigation...

In fact, Mulin needs to objectively understand the whole story, which is exactly the opposite of the judgment process of the Elven Elder Council Tribunal.

If it were the Elven Council of Elders's court, they would have just announced the verdict against the Half-Elf gatherer.

But Mulin actually wanted to continue investigating and gathering evidence...

Therefore, Roy felt he had no reason to interfere; he couldn't possibly meddle in everything.

Moira had just begged Roy to help the Half-Elf girl, but Roy ruthlessly refused.

This made her very angry, and her little face puffed up with rage.

Moira ran to the Half-Elf girl's side and saw her lying unconscious on the stone slab. She quickly gave her some water. Thinking of how she had seen her in the alley yesterday, she felt even more sorry for the Half-Elf girl.

The Half-Elf girl was very thin and slowly opened her eyes while lying in Moira's arms.

"Besides your father, do you have any other relatives?" Moira asked the Half-Elf girl in a low voice.

The Half-Elf girl's voice was hoarse from crying, and she spoke with great difficulty, even losing her voice somewhat. "There's also an older brother. He went to Sun Island Bay with the Mine Guard Regiment to help the Half-Elf there..."

Roy quickly came over, took out a jar of diluted Tree of Tree of Life Sap from his Magic Pouch, and fed it to the Half-Elf girl.

The Half-Elf girl drank the Tree of Life Sap and immediately gained some strength.

She struggled to her feet from Moira's embrace, bowed deeply to Moira, and said, "I need to go and pack my father's luggage. Farewell!"

The Half-Elf girl did not ask Moira for help, but instead politely bid farewell to Moira. Her understanding made Moira feel even more sorry for her.

Moira's face grew even more grim as she watched the Half-Elf girl run quickly down the stone steps.

"I want the truth, Roy, you have to help me."

Moira was a little angry and kept pestering Roy, speaking unreasonably.

Roy was somewhat helpless; Mulin had handled the matter perfectly.

He wanted to bypass Moira and go to the residence to get his horse.

He also wanted to visit the Blacksmith Workshop today to find out why it hadn't been able to finish producing the Blacksmith Workshop on time...

At this moment, Moira once again blocked Roy's path, unreasonably placing her arms horizontally, tilting her head back, and staring at Roy with her clear, bright black eyes.

You have to help me!

Moira's eyes were a little moist, but her tone was unusually firm...

Sabrina and Miss Tiffany simply watched from behind; neither of them came closer.

Roy stopped and affectionately pinched Moira's cheek, replying softly, "Okay! You're so annoying."

After saying that Roy went into the City Hall to find Mulin...

The Magic Airship, which was originally waiting at the Air Port Dock to be loaded with Iron Chains, flew to Sun Island Bay in the morning, without carrying any supplies from the Plateau City.

Moira and Miss Tiffany stood on the deck of the Magic Airship.

Miss Tiffany, her hands resting on the bronze Argali Ram Horn of the ship, looked towards the distant cloud-shrouded shore and asked Moira curiously, "Just to give you a clear explanation, I'm going to accompany you on this Magic Airship, taking a detour between Sun Island Bay and Plateau City. By the way... if Roy weren't the governor of the Pagisto Plateau, he wouldn't have the authority to help you like this. What would you do?"

Moira, standing on the deck, squinted her eyes.

At that moment, she was like Night Blade Leopard crouching in the shadows.

"Tiffany, have you forgotten my profession? I'm an assassin! My teacher told me that when I can't find the answer, I should approach each one individually and ask them one by one until someone tells me."

Whether it was just her imagination or not, Miss Tiffany felt a chill run down her spine when she heard Moira say those words.

Miss Tiffany turned around and looked at Moira, asking:

"If... I mean if Roy hadn't gotten involved, would you really have done this?"

"I can!"

Moira answered without hesitation.

"..."

Miss Tiffany didn't say anything.

The sweet-looking, cute, and introverted Half-Elf girl before us is like a rose hidden in the shadows, blooming beautifully while also revealing her thorns...